Greatest Hits:: DreamNote: GHOST

 Alrighty-roo. I went back and took a look at some of the songs I shared with y'all in the other Halloween posts, and decided that I'd put this one on the short list for October this year. The shortlist is twenty songs long, for the record, so I'm not going to cover all of them right now, but I thought that this would be a good one to follow a behemoth of a group. As I said in the Halloween post in 2024, I wouldn't have discovered this group and this song if they hadn't released a new song. Ish. Seriously, this is an underrated group and it's impressive they survived as long as they did. They made it the full seven years of their contract, which is four more than the average girl group, so I just want that acknowledgement for them. Also, their fandom colors are Joyful Green and Cheerful Yellow, and that's just so precious that they actually have colors and what those colors are called. I know that's a bit weird with how dark this song is, but most of their discography is a bit brighter than this.

DreamNote debuted as an eight-member group in 2018 under iMe KOREA, although the line-up for this particular single was the six-member line-up they had for most of the seven years they were active.  They also did quite a few OSTs over the years, including an ending theme for a Korean animated television show that looks like something that I would 100% watch.

GHOST is the title track for their fourth single, Dreams Alive, released in 2021. We've got the same list for the composers and the lyricists, which is nice. They are Chakun (AOA, Brave Girls, The KingDom, HELLO VENUS, TRENDZ, Samuel, Teen Top, Weki Meki, Boyfriend, T-ARA, Sistar, DKB, INI, Candy Shop, and BAE173), Any Masingga (Chungha, GFRIEND, i-dle, CLC, ARTMS, BVNDIT, tripleS, ITZY, BTOB, Victon, WJSN, Weeekly, Golden Child, Highlight, Lovelyz, APRIL, ONF, Rocky, NeonPunch, Babylon, and Yoon Dujun), ELLUII (ifeye, UNIS, Park Bom, Xiumin, MOMOLAND, WJSN, INI, DKB, Rocky, Lee Sungyeol, Younite, The KingDom, ONF, Trendz, Kim Wooseok, AB6IX, VAYONN, iii, Lim Youngmin, Kim Sihuun, Hi-Dream, and X-Piers), and J6 (Park Bom, IZ*ONE, INI, Ha Sungwoon, Lee Jinhyuk, and X-Piers). It looks like three of those names (Any Masingga, ELLUII, and J6) are in the same production team, which is fun. Also, I apparently like these guys as songwriters.

• Group: DreamNote
• Debut Date: 2018 November 07
• Company: iMe Korea
• Status: Disbanded
• Album: Dreams Alive
• Song: GHOST
• Release Date: 2021 October 26

I'm choosing to ignore that this masterpiece of a music video only has 1.3 million views. But know that I saw it and breathed out very angrily through my nose.

I absolutely adore the beginning of the song. It's so haunted house with a witch currently living in it. It's gothic and spooky. It's not American gothic, to be clear. This is European gothic with a castle. And I know that the song has a title of "ghost" and we see significantly fewer ghosts than the title would imply but this is them joining the ranks of Dreamcatcher and PinkFantasy and Purple Kiss and PIXY and also later GFRIEND with the spooky witchy girls. 

One of the best parts is how prominent the moon is here. There are some rather heavy-handed wolfy references in the lyrics, which is great, and one of the members in the music video is actually a werewolf as is evidenced by 1:27, but the majority of the music video is more witchy, which means we get to default to the moon as femininity and mystery and knowledge. But what's so interesting here is that a lot of the scenes where they're inside and framed by usually a soft candlelight, there's a pale light coming from behind them that most of the time reads like moonlight, like no matter what they're doing, they're backed by the power of the moon. 

Tarot? Moon.

Chess? Moon.

In a library? Moon.

And if you notice, those are all knowledge-based pursuits with the tarot on one end of the spectrum and chess on the other, with the more generalized knowledge of the library in the middle. Historically speaking, the person with the information is the one with the power, which is why the people in power want to restrict access to information. Having the moon, one of the primal sources of power in all of the earliest stories that humans have been telling, providing the backdrop of light in those scenes is almost like the moon herself is backing the members' pursuits of knowledge.

What sort of pursuit of knowledge? Well, according to the lyrics, how to find someone who is lost. The relationship feels romantic, but it's not explicitly so (unless of course there's a nuance to the Korean that I don't understand yet). Whoever this person is, regardless, they were foundational, so much so that they're howling "Where you at?" while at the same time "Everywhere I look at you/But you are gone". 

Also, this entire time, I thought they were saying "power", not "howl" (it's a combination of how the word is being pronounced on top of it being turned into a two-syllable word because of the notes being sung). Now that I've realized they're saying "howl" because of handy-dandy lyrics, I think that's actually a really clever way of turning that word into a proper onomatopoeia.

And the "You feel like a ghost" repeated whisper is so deliciously sinister here as well. This song is the best of both worlds. We've got the spooky in the song itself, which I love, and then the music video is also spooky. 

At 2:24 when the bridge hits and the members are prowling through the castle's hallway, that's a stellar moment. This is the first time all the members are together other than the liminal performance space, and the door they opened leads out to the tree from the beginning, a tree that suddenly begins blooming when they approach. It's almost like you absolutely can get stuff done on your own, but you need other people around to finish the job and do more than you can do on your own, which could actually be the metaphor for the K-Pop group experience in general. 

Starting off with Music Bank and this specific one because it would have been the closer one to my birthday, as per usual, and I'm trying to decide how I feel about the audio. I think there might be something odd about it because it at least doesn't sound exactly like the studio version, but it also sounds oddly hollow.

That being said, there are a couple of spots where I think there might be live vocals. Lara's "Where you at" at 1:00 has some very crisp consonants that you definitely don't hear in the studio track. You can hear good enunciation in the studio version at this spot here, but nothing like what this performance gives us. Eunjo's part at 1:17 also has some roughness that you usually only hear with live performances. Miso and Lara's harmony at 2:43 has a little bit of roughness that isn't as prominent in the studio track and it isn't nearly as well blended here, which I like. 

Live performances are messy and perfection is for robots.

The stage design at the very beginning is just genuinely cool. It's all dark and spooky with the haunted house and barren trees. It's so perfect that I'd kind of love to have that as my laptop background for the spooky season.

And all the glitching at the "Feel like a ghost" part? Yes, please. Perfect cinematography.

I'm also really looking forward to the dance practice because there are spots that are just breathtaking, including some spots that look very puppet and puppet master, or the amount of "claws" in the hand details.

And also, I really love their outfits. Every single one of them except one has sheer material being used somehow and instead of going for the easy route of using black for the spooky concept, it's a dark, velvety blue that's almost a purple and looks black in some of the spots. Very pretty.

We're going to go with The Show next from November second.

Again look at the amount of sheer fabric being used.

I love Youi's hair with the highlight stripes. If they'd been a little bolder, we could have been looking at an early 00s block highlighting job, which I wish would come back because it's just a fun look. And her feline stare-down with the camera at 3:12 is so well-done. Also, I didn't notice it on the last one, but if you look at her at :09, her body control is so good that she's got a little bit of a steampunk doll clunk as she's turning. That's incredibly fitting because that spot right there is where the instrumental is a bit more music box and haunted doll. 

And Eunjo's look with her hair like that and then the fur on the one side gives her a very "northern queen" look. Sumin has a very similar look while looking slightly more modern for some reason, but the two of them give off a very "two-sides of the same coin" feel and that gives the look of 2:38 if you were to pause it such a good symmetry. 

I'd also like to point out the LED background. The entire time it has occasional flickers where it looks like it's glitching, especially during the chorus, which does make it feel a little bit like their power is so strong that it's even messing with the electronics. I think that's really cool. That's a good design. 

Also, as a side note, the day of this performance was the day that they got their first entry into Billboard's World Digital Song Sales chart. Not only was it their first time making it there ever, but they made it into the top ten. The two things are unrelated, I think, but that's pretty cool.

I believe that this Inkigayo stage was the last performance for promotions for this comeback. Three weeks. I'm glad that they had promotions for that long because it had been almost two full years since the release of the previous single, so that was a long hiatus indeed and considering what we've learned about girl groups lasting on average slightly over three years, they had their three-year anniversary during the promotions for this song. It's a minor miracle that what happens to so many other groups didn't happen to them. 

As a side note, the official description for the song is "보름달이 뜨는 밤, 소녀 안에 숨겨져 있던 새로운 모습이 드러난다는 내용을 오컬트 스릴러 장르의 느낌과 함께 담아낸 타이틀곡 ‘GHOST’", which translates to "The title track 'GHOST' captures the feeling of an occult thriller, telling the story of a new side of a girl emerging on a night of the full moon." I'd say that they nailed that description.

I'm approximately 97.3% sure that this is at least 87% live vocals and I'm only putting it that low because there could be a couple of spots, other than the ones that I can easily hear, that predominately use backtrack and lip syncing. If I were going based just on what I was hearing, I'd put it up closer to 92%. 2:17 is one of the most blatantly obvious spots that this is live because the audio balancing is slightly off and I am so happy about that. But we actually get ad-libs for this performance. 2:32, if you missed them. And at 1:09, you can hear Youi breaking through the backtrack as well, and then following hot on her heels, Boni's part is so obviously live that even my dog who hates music would be able to tell. 

I've loved every single one of Boni's looks, by the way. With her short hair like that, she looks like the villain in an office drama where she and the main girl are rivals not just in the office, but also rival witches. 

Normally, I'm eyeing the camera angles with no small amount of grumpiness and alertness, but the way that the camera drops down at 1:39, following the cascade of the members dropping down as well is so cool and flows with the choreography so well.

And you cannot tell me that at 1:40, the screen over on the left side does not look like the Cheshire Cat. But more sinister. Like the horror version of Alice in Wonderland (mental note for a story idea has been jotted down).

And I love how at the end of the last stage of promotions, instead of holding that end position, they switched into hearts. Almost two years away and their fans stayed. I'd be so grateful and so relieved, even if this song wasn't what they normally did, and I'm pretty sure that my hypothetical emotions are nothing compared to what theirs actually were.

Speaking of live vocals, we've got a live session because they went to Arirang Radio. It's been a hot minute since I've found a radio performance of the song we're looking at. 

And here even the howling, which is one of the few parts where I'm pretty sure that they lip sync that part fairly consistently, is done live. And those are some high notes. Like, I recognize that I'm not always the best person to judge how high a song is because I was a first soprano for five years solely because I could hide that I was in fact in my falsetto from the strength and stability up there (my mixed range is absolute garbage, I've only got a band of about six notes after my chest voice limit before I have to switch to falsetto). But when I tell you that while I can hit those notes, I'm going to have to warm up the old pipes and loosen up my back and neck if I want to be comfortable up there. Because those are some notes. 

I'm very much complimenting them, if that's not clear, because yowza.

Miso specifically looks so relaxed while she's howling, like at :47. Watch her hand she's got held up. Yes, it's curled a little bit, but it's loosely curled and she's not clenched at all, otherwise when she moves her fingers, it wouldn't look that smooth. And Lara at 1:06 doesn't sound strained at all even though she's got some siren notes going on. Boni right after sounds like she's in her upper limit right there, but that's okay because she's still hitting the notes.

Eunjo's cute little thumbs up to Lara at 3:13 is kind of adorable. Love that.

I also have to say how beautiful Lara and Sumin sound at 2:19. That is some gorgeous singing right there.

Also, at least a third of them are doing the choreography in miniature through the entire thing. I'm very happy and pleased by this.

I also found the recording behind for this one, and their raw vocals are just so pretty, especially when they're a cappella and warming up so that they can hit those notes.

And I don't know about y'all, but I love seeing the work that they put into this. I love seeing the work behind the final product and all the little tricks and quirks that they have in the booth (like how Hyunjin almost presses his mouth to the shield when he records or how Joshua from Seventeen has to hold the lyrics up to his face). There is a lot of pointing and stabbing going on in this group, which is cute.

Also the entirety of Youi's recording is adorable. She laughs so much. And Miso has a voice on her. Goodness. Even if she did hit the music stand in her enthusiasm. I love that. She was getting so into it.

I also really like it because they get to show off just how good they sound. A small company does not automatically mean a small amount of talent. It just means fewer opportunities and less attention at the start. Three years in, they're at a level I would expect and easily at the same level as any group in the Big 4, which is why I'm grateful they didn't disband earlier than they did.

Okay. Dance Practice time. This isn't the last thing you're going to see of this song, but the last one will be brief. 

We've got a puppets-and-puppet master situation going on right at the very beginning, and then that vibe pops up with quite a lot of regularity. We see it at 1:09, at 1:24, at 1:51, at 2:48, and at 3:10.

The slide at :29 is so ridiculously smooth. One moment they're standing up and the next, they're on their sides on the floor. And the cascade at 1:41 down and then back up is absolutely incredible. 

I love that the formation is off-center at :59, both actually in the formation since it's four and two and also because the front point is to the viewer's right side rather than actually in the middle. It's just a little bit unsettling, which fits with the song. I also really love the bit at 2:46 because the choreography all of a sudden switches styles to a steampunk doll style doing a Victorian country dance while the song cackles menacingly. That's so much fun. 

The choreographer(s) need a raise. Almost the entirety of the song is different. There's very little that's actually repeated, even within the chorus because even when moves might be the same, the formation may not be. There is so much going on in this choreography, which makes it both harder to learn and cooler to watch, and it's a really good showcase of the members' dancing ability, as well as the fact that even though there's quite a lot of individual or paired movements, there's also a satisfying amount of synchronized group choreography.

Alright, everyone. We're going to finish this off with something very fun. They did a Halloween dance practice.

So, Miso is looking stunning as Audrey Hepburn's iconic look from Breakfast at Tiffany's. Lara is the police officer. Sumin is Sailor Moon. Eunjo is Inuyasha (I had a moment after I recognized that costume instantly where I had to consider where I am in my life that I could immediately identify that. It's fine. It's just the speed with which I identified it considering I still haven't finished it. I'm fine with the fact that it took me a moment to recognize Sailor Moon, because I've never seen that one). Boni is Mario, and Youi is a ninja.

Excellent choices all around. Everyone looks amazing. 

Happy Halloween!

I love this song so much, you guys. Like, it's not even just in my Halloween playlist that I listen to, pretty much exclusively, during October, but I've also got it in my regular listening playlist. This was also the first time I'd seen the music video for this, because I tend to just listen and not really watch the music videos. But that's fine! You know why? Because then if I do a song I listen to for this, then I get to settle in with my thoughts over the music video for you all. And even though DreamNote is disbanded now, they had a really good run of it, including this really cool song that's a bit of an anomaly in their discography. 

If you've got any songs you think I'd enjoy, or if your fandom has something awesome happening in the next few months, or if something I said somewhere upset you and you want to punish me by forcing me to celebrate a song I didn't particularly like, feel free to drop a comment requesting I cover that song, or you can always send me the song via The Form!

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!

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